On May 8th, Glen Abbey Toastmasters had the pleasure of welcoming guest speaker Roger Caesar to our club. Roger Caesar is a 4-time District 86 Speech Champion, a 3-time international award winning speaker and a 3 time semi finalist at the World Championships of Public Speaking. He is also a motivational speaker who helps others to develop their speaking skills and maximize their greatness. In 2018, he was the recipient of the City of Brampton Volunteer Award for helping start up entrepreneurs.
Roger wowed our club with his inspirational message in a speech titled "Didn't See it Coming!". He talked about the personal struggles he has gone through, and how we all need to look past the "small picture" failures and focus on the "big picture" - what we truly want out of our lives - in order to keep pushing forward and succeeding.
President - Krista Rowan VP Education - Rose Ford VP Membership - Muraad Shah VP Public Relations - Tamur Shah Treasurer - Janet Newcombe Secretary - Bahareh Tehrani Sergeant At Arms - Zehra Raza Past President - Gordon Vuong
Glen Abbey Toastmasters Club Member Keith Rabey recently achieved a big Toastmasters milestone - his Distinguished Toastmaster designation.
What is a Distinguished Toastmaster?
The Distinguished Toastmaster is the highest award Toastmasters bestows. The DTM recognizes a high level of achievement in both the communication and leadership tracks in the Toastmasters education program. To be eligible for the award, you must have completed / earned the following (links take you to details at Toastmasters International):
Keith joined Toastmasters in 2009, and over the last 6 years completed over 75 speeches at Glen Abbey, at other clubs, and at District 86 events. In addition, he held roles as the Glen Abbey Toastmasters Club VP PR, Club President, and Area Director.
Thoughts On Toastmasters
I joined Toastmasters with the goal to improve my public speaking and particularly my interviewing skills. Table Topics was instrumental in helping me achieve that goal. Over time I have become much more confident and able to stand up and deliver speeches in many situations in my personal and professional life.
One of the surprises I found with Toastmasters was the leadership component of the program. I took on leadership roles on the executive of GATM and went on to become an Area Director serving and leading 5 clubs in Mississauga.
Many individuals have helped me along the way. I would like to say Thank You to all, who have applauded when I spoke, who have provided verbal or written evaluations. Thank you to all who have encouraged me with “good job Keith!” or a friendly pat on the back. This is what Toastmasters is all about, as safe supportive environment to learn and develop.
I actively promote Toastmasters when the opportunity presents itself and encourage everyone to sign up and take advantage of this fantastic program!
A fun halloween-themed meeting was held at the GATM on November 1st, 2017. Our members were dressed up in great Halloween costumes and shared ghoulsidh stories and spook-tacular evaluations. What a fun night!
In November 2016, Flora Sun received her Competent Communicator designation. The Competent Communicator is the first speaking designation in the Toastmasters program and is achieved after creating, practicing and delivering 10 speeches with specific project goals. We asked her a few questions about her experience at Glen Abbey Toastmasters.
How long have you been a Toastmaster? I have been a Toastmaster since January, 2015.
Why did you join Toastmasters? Originally, I wanted to improve my English listening and speaking skills. With the help of Glen Abbey's experienced club members, I improved my public speaking skills.
What have you learned from your Toastmasters journey? I learned a lot from the Toastmasters. After every speech, I received constructive feedback from my evaluator and club members. Many experienced members took a lot of time to help me improve my tone and gestures and encouraged me to continue to practice my public speaking skills.
What surprised you about Toastmasters? How really encouraging the environment is. After my first speech, I was waiting for the criticizing feedback, but instead - the evaluator was really encouraging and pointed out my strong points while gently and kindly mentioning areas that could be improved. This helped me a lot to continue to practice.
What do you like most about our club? The really friendly encouraging environment. Many club members are not only excellent public speakers, but also the humorous performers.
